15 Gay Actors Who Play Straight Characters
10. Sir Ian McKellan
A long time actor, on both stage and screen, McKellan is highly-respected in the field of performing arts and is instantly recognizable these days for his roles in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, X-Men films, and the more recent trilogy of films The Hobbit.
For the X-Men films, McKellan played the role of Magneto. In the films, Magneto is a character who was previously on the side of good for mutants, but eventually saw no peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans.
In the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, he plays the role of the wizard Gandalf. His character in these films is the visionary leading the side of good as it fights to defeat pure evil in their world.
Much like Lily Tomlin, McKellan made no secret of his sexual orientation. Throughout much of his acting career, which stretches back to 1959, his fellow actors from his stage career were well aware of his sexual orientation.
During an interview with BBC Radio 3 in 1988, he made his sexual orientation known to the general public. McKellan has had two serious partners in his life. The first, Brian Taylor (1964-72) was a history teacher; while the second, Sean Mathias (1978-88), was a fellow actor.
